I Will Never Leave You
by Residentfangirl1997
Summary: A new Alpha Pack is in Beacon Hills with the intention of eliminating all humans in the town. When they decide to kidnap Stiles to get to Scott, will the pack be able to save him in time?
1. Chapter 1

"You won't believe what I just heard on this thing." Stiles rambled, waving his police scanner in the air as he barged into Derek's flat. He opened his mouth to say more but stopped short when he realized that the entire pack was already gathered around Derek's living room.

"Maybe you will believe it." He said, trying to not let his annoyance at being left out of the pack meeting show. "Are you guys here about the murder?"

Scott was the first to acknowledge Stiles. He could smell the sadness radiating off of his best friend.

"Hey buddy! We were actually just about to call you. This was just a really impromptu meeting bec-" he paused, "Did you say murder?"

Stiles glanced around the room to see Lydia smiling a bit too brightly at him and Derek pretending to tidy up the coffee table while ignoring Stiles completely.

"Umm yeah," Stiles cleared his throat awkwardly and focused his attention back on Scott. "I was listening to the police scanner and apparently they found another teenager's body out in the woods. She was only a freshman. Scott I'm really beginning to think something more is going on here than just a serial killer with an affinity for offing high schoolers."

This seemed to finally get everyone's attention.

"Was this one killed just like the other ones?" Lydia spoke up from her position next to Malia.

"Yep. Her throat was ripped out and she was strung up on a tree, just like the others." Stiles shuddered as he remembered the photos his dad left laying out on their kitchen table.

"I've never heard of a supernatural creature hanging up their kills for display before." Derek said, looking at Stiles for the first time since he walked in. "That level of sadistic pleasure is generally reserved for when you lot decide to go after each other." He gestured at Stiles.

"And the throats being ripped out?" Lydia asked, suddenly defensive. "You think a human did that too?"

Derek shrugged. "I've seen humans do things even more shocking."

"Well I don't believe it." Kira had only been listening up to that point but she could only stay silent for so long. "I'm with Lydia and Stiles on this one. Humans are capable of a lot of terrible things, but ripping out the throats of 3 teenagers and hanging them on trees? That definitely seems like more of a supernatural type horror to me. Scott, what do you think?"

Scott sighed. He was still getting used to people looking to him for guidance and he honestly wasn't too sure that he was the right person to be making these calls.

"I honestly don't know," he finally admitted, "but I think we should look into it regardless. Stiles, do you think you think you could talk to your dad and maybe get some more information?"

"Yeah and do it as soon as possible. Like maybe right now." Malia gestured to the door while the rest of the pack shot her angry looks.

"Does this have anything to do with the meeting that I obviously wasn't invited to?" Stiles questioned, aiming his big brown eyes towards Scott, whom he knew wouldn't be able to lie to him easily.

"Now he's getting it." Malia rolled her eyes.

"Shut up Malia." Scott growled at her before turning his gaze softly to Stiles. "We weren't trying to keep anything from you Stiles. I promise. It's just that we were discussing what to do about the nogitsune's fly. It's trapped and safe but we were thinking that there might be a better solution that would guarantee it never returns."

"And you didn't think that I deserve to have a say in things concerning the nogitsune?" Stiles was shocked and angry that his friends felt like they could discuss this kind of thing without him. Had they already forgotten what it made him do? How it made him feel? It was obvious that was not the case, as Allison's absence was still glaringly obvious to the pack, but he couldn't help but feel betrayed nonetheless.

"We were trying to protect you." Lydia quickly stepped in to help Scott. "We didn't want you to have to think about this thing anymore. He's done enough harm to you both physically and mentally. We didn't want to interrupt your healing process and risk you having a slip up."

"Plus, you've been acting really depressed and weird lately so I'm not sure how well the healing's even been going so far." Malia pointed out, earning her another dirty look from the pack.

"You know what guys, it's fine. I'll just leave so you can continue talking about how screwed up Stiles has become. I won't bring down the mood anymore." Stiles turned on his heels and slammed the door on his way out.

Scott sat down and rubbed his hands through his hair. "That could have gone better." He looked up to see everyone watching him, eyes filled with concern. "We should probably all get going too. I'll give Stiles an hour or so to cool off and then I'll talk to him. He'll be fine by the time school starts on Monday. In the meantime, I want everyone looking into the murders. Derek, maybe you could patrol the woods a little bit."

Derek nodded and the pack began filing out of the apartment.

Stiles stormed out of Derek's flat, still fuming from the conversation with his "best friends". He climbed into his Jeep and turned the key.

"You really are my only true friend, aren't you?" He gently patted the steering wheel and pulled away.

By the time he arrived home, Stiles was no longer angry at his friends. He had begun to understand where they were coming from. He knew that he had been acting out recently, but he couldn't help it. He turned off the ignition and walked inside, kicking his shoes off in the process. He had just resolved to calling Scott to try and explain his feelings when a hand reached around his head and covered his nose and mouth with a cloth. The last thing Stiles saw was his phone smash against the ground before the world went black around him.


	2. Chapter 2

The Sheriff was pouring over the photos from the newest crime scene for what seemed like the hundredth time that night when something caught his attention about the body.

He immediately reached for his phone and dialed Stiles's number.

"Hi you've reached Stiles Stilinski. I'm either out hunting werewolves right now or I don't want to talk to you. Leave a message if you want."

Stilinski checked his watch. It was 11:30 pm, Stiles should be at home getting ready for bed at this time. His stomach instinctively began to churn in what he hoped was just normal parental worry, instead of parental intuition.

Without having to think about it he dialed the number of the one person who always seems to know where his son is.

"Hello? Sheriff?" Scott answered on the third ring.

"Hey Scott, I know it's late, but you aren't with Stiles right now by any chance, are you?"

He could hear Scott's breathing catch on the other end, as he could sense the Sheriff's unease.

"No, he's not with me. I saw him a couple of hours ago, though, and he left kind of upset. I was actually considering going over there and seeing if he was still mad. Is everything okay?" Scott couldn't hide the nervousness that crept into his voice.

"I don't know. He didn't answer my call and I just have a really bad feeling. It's probably nothing, but would you mind going to the house to check on him?" The Sheriff could already hear Scott's motorbike growling as it started up and he couldn't help but smile. Stiles truly was lucky to have Scott as a best friend.

"I'm on my way." Scott hung up and sped towards the Stilinkski residence, dread already pooling in the pit of his stomach.

When Scott arrived at Stiles's house, the first thing he saw was the light blue Jeep sitting idly in the driveway. Scott sighed in relief at the sight of the old hunk of steel because that meant that Stiles was safely inside, probably playing video games or pouring over research about the mystery killer.

Scott hesitated after turning off his bike. He briefly worried how Stiles would react to him after what happened at Derek's flat, but he soon realized that their friendship had gone through much worse and that Stiles was probably sitting inside waiting for him to come over.

The relief he felt at seeing the Jeep soon turned to panic, however, when Scott noticed that the front door was hanging open. His senses went into overdrive and he allowed himself to wolf out slightly as he cautiously approached the door.

When he stepped over the threshold his nose got assaulted with smells. He shut his eyes to try and focus on the specifics and he was even more terrified by what he found. He was able to distinctly smell fear and pain and blood. Lots of blood. Stiles's blood.

Terror flooded his body and his brain immediately began looking for clues as to what happened. He found Stiles's cell phone smashed on the ground and his shoes had been kicked off. The attacker must have been waiting for Stiles when he came home, which made Scott feel even worse that he hadn't come directly over after the meeting.

Scott pulled out his phone to call the Sheriff when something shiny caught his eye. He walked back to the front door and found a picture tucked into the door hinges. When he unraveled it he almost threw up.

The photo was of Stiles, bound and gagged to a chair. He seemed to be unconscious, which didn't surprise Scott at all, as his entire face was covered in cuts and bruises. His left eye was swollen shut and blood was trickling down his face from a particularly nasty wound near his forehead.

Scott shakily turned over the picture in his hand and found writing on the back.

 _Find him. Come alone. Nobody else gets hurt._

The uneasiness in Scott's stomach intensified as he slowly put his phone back in his pocket, discouraged from calling the Sheriff. He could practically smell the trap, but when it comes to Stiles, he would be willing to walk into any trap to make sure he was safe. Scott felt so guilty about the way he had treated Stiles recently. He thought about how Stiles had never let him down, even though Scott had ignored him time and time again because of Allison. Scott had simply come to expect Stiles to always be there for him and he had let his obsession with Allison and the pack take him away from focusing on Stiles and their friendship.

Scott felt tears sting his eyes as he looked down at the picture one more time before crumpling it up and stuffing it into his pocket. His eyes glowed red and he realized that he was beyond angry. He was going to find whoever kidnapped Stiles and rip them limb from limb.


	3. Chapter 3

Stiles slowly regained consciousness and the first thing he felt was the pain. He remembered the beating he had received the first time he woke up and was not ready for a second one. His head was throbbing and his limbs felt like they were on fire. He tried to open his eyes but discovered that one eye was too swollen to open. He groaned in pain.

"Welcome back princess." A low voice growled from the corner. Stiles squinted to try and get a better look at who had spoken to him. "I was afraid that we had killed you."

"And why haven't you?" Stiles spat, blood dribbling down his chin. He struggled slightly against the restraints that were holding him to a chair, but it proved too painful to move.

"Stiles, my dear boy, we don't WANT to kill you. We just want your pack."

"If you're hoping that I'll bring you to them then you're sorely mistaken, and if you wanted them to help you with something then kidnapping me was definitely not the way to go about that." Stiles was mentally kicking himself for talking back to these people, as he did not want a repeat of his last beating, but he had never been good at keeping his thoughts to himself.

His captor laughed. "Do you really think we are that daft? We are going to use your death as an example. Scott McCall will follow the scent of your blood," the man emerged from the shadows and towered over Stiles, "and he will be forced to watch us kill his favorite little human." The man grabbed Stiles's face, making him yelp in pain. "Once the true alpha has been thoroughly broken he will be given a choice. Either he helps us kill or turn the rest of the humans in Beacon Hills into werewolves, or I will keep killing people he cares about one by one until he agrees. Not bad, huh?"

Stiles opened his mouth to make a witty response, but it had suddenly become very dry. All hope of making it out of this place alive seemed to drain from his mind.

"You know that Scott will never let you get away with this." Stiles said weakly, "He probably already knows it's a trap and he will be bringing the rest of the pack for help. You will never over power them all." Stiles just hoped that he sounded more confident than he actually felt.

"You forget human," the man leaned so close to his face that Stiles could feel the heat from his breath on his face and see his eyes suddenly glow red, "I am a werewolf. An Alpha. I can sense when you are lying." He leaned back and laughed a low, menacing laugh.

Stiles sunk further down into his chair and looked away from the werewolf.

A few hours had passed and Scott still hadn't shown up.

"See? I told you he wouldn't be dumb enough to come walking into your trap." Stiles began to feel hopeful for the first time since he was taken. "He probably doesn't even know that I am missing. Our last conversation did not exactly end on a happy note."

"Should we send him another message then?" The werewolf walked up to Stiles and extended his claws. "If he doesn't show up I'll just have to kill you slower and then dump your body in his room so that he has no choice but to find you." The alpha sunk his claws into Stiles's thigh and Stiles screamed in agony. "Maybe he doesn't care as much about you as I thought he did. Maybe he would care more if he could hear you scream." The claws were ripped out of Stiles's thigh and plunged into his stomach. Stiles cried out again and his vision began to fade around the edges.


	4. Chapter 4

Scott had no trouble following the scent of Stiles's blood. It led him to an abandoned warehouse in the middle of the woods. He pulled out his phone to text Lydia where he was in case something bad happened and Stiles didn't get released, or if Stiles was too hurt to walk, but he knew that Lydia would insist on coming straight away and he couldn't get anyone else involved yet.

He slowly crept towards the building, looking for any signs of an entrance or a trap. A few seconds later he heard an ear-splitting scream and all thoughts of being careful were tossed to the wind and he began running as fast as he could. His vision was blurring with panic because he would've recognized that scream anywhere. It was Stiles. And he was terrified.

Scott busted down the nearest door, not bothering to be careful about it, and frantically looked around for any clues as to where Stiles might be held. The entire building smelt like fear and pain and it made a shiver run up Scott's spine.

A second scream had him running again. He followed the sound of his brother's cries in a blind terror. He flew down a narrow hallway and around a few corners before he finally smelled Stiles. The scent of blood was overpowering and Scott had to stop for a second to get his stomach to quit churning.

He pushed open the door to the room and was greeted with a horrific sight. Stiles looked about ready to pass out and there was blood oozing out of wounds to his head, chest, stomach, and legs. A flicker of hope passed through Stiles's eyes when he saw Scott, followed by fear as Scott felt a familiar sharp pain in his back. He had been tased.

Scott woke up tied to a chair. He was facing a different chair that held a very concerned, but very alive, Stiles Stilinski.

"Dude are you okay?" Stiles asked.

"Are you kidding me?" Scott croaked, already feeling his body heal as they spoke. "You've been beaten within an inch of your life and you're asking me if I'm alright?" He shook his head in disbelief and smiled. "You're unbelievable."

"Scott you really shouldn't have come. It was a trap."

Scott laughed. "Yeah I think I figured that part out by now." Stiles gave him a slight smile. "But you know there's nothing I wouldn't do for you, man. I know I've been a really shitty friend lately but I still care about you so much. I was going crazy thinking about what might have been happening to you. I'm so sorry about the pack meeting. I know you felt left out and we totally should've included you. It was my call not to, so please don't be mad at the others."

Stiles shook his head. "I was going to call you as soon as I got home. I overreacted. I know you have the best intentions in mind and I truly do appreciate how much you guys look out for me. I guess I'm still really feeling guilty about everything that I did and-"

"You mean everything that the nogitsune did." Scott corrected.

"Yeah but it was my hands." Stiles looked down at his lap. "I'm just struggling to cope with everything Scotty."

"I know buddy, and once we get out of here I promise that I will be a better friend to you. Speaking of which," Scott started looking around for any signs of the people who did this, "you have me now, you bastards! You can let Stiles go. I walked right into your trap!"

Stiles's eyes grew wide and started filling with tears. Scott didn't know.

"The trap wasn't meant for you." Stiles whispered, just as a menacing laugh came from somewhere behind Scott, making his blood run cold.

"You're dumber than I thought, McCall." The captor walked in front of Scott, blocking his view of Stiles. His eyes flashed red and Scott gasped. "I thought true alphas were supposed to be smart. You really thought I kidnapped your poor, defenseless friend just so that I could get you?" He laughed again. "If I wanted to do that I would have just captured you in the first place. No, I want this to be a lesson for you."

The werewolf moved out of the way so that Scott could look at Stiles once again. Stiles's face was calm but Scott could hear his heartbeat pounding furiously against his chest. He admired the strength that the boy had.

"However, we couldn't begin said lesson until you arrived. So bravo, I was starting to get impatient. My name is Adorjan and I am the leader of an alpha pack." Stiles whipped his head around at this revelation, his calm composure slipping a little. "My pack and I want to make Beacon Hills a haven for supernatural creatures, and we would appreciate your pack's assistance in doing so."

Scott had so many questions flying through his head, but the only one he could manage to ask was "What?"

"We want to create a town of only supernatural creatures, which means that every human either needs to be killed or turned. Your pack can stay, however, because they are all supernatural in some sense. Well, except for this one." He pointed at Stiles. "I am using him as an example of what will happen to every human you care about if you refuse to help me. I was going to offer to let him go if you said yes to me straight away," Stiles's eyes lit up with hope, "but then it took you so long to show up and I've found that I really do enjoy making your little friend squirm." He grabbed Stiles by the neck and he began flailing and choking, struggling to breathe.

Scott pulled against the chains binding him to the chair. "Let him go!" He growled, anger flooding his body.

Adorjan released Stiles, whose lips had just gained a slight blue tinge to them. He started gasping for air immediately, assuring Scott that he was still alive.

"Even if you did break free from those chains Scott, how do you expect to get to your friend?" He unchained Stiles, stepped away, and poured something onto the floor.

Scott looked down and realized that there had been an almost finished loop of mountain ash around Stiles's chair the entire time, but Adorjan just closed it, cutting off any way that Scott could have reached him.

Adorjan walked over to Scott's chair and began drawing a loop around it in the same way he did Stiles's, forming a figure 8 of mountain ash around the two boys.

Stiles had been eerily quiet since Adorjan showed up, but now he could see what the plan was and his heart leapt into his throat. He wanted to run, as he was no longer bound to the chair, but the pain coursing trough his body wouldn't let him.

Scott, of course, noticed the sudden spike in his best friend's heart rate and he looked up at him, concern clear in his face.

"What's wrong Stiles? Besides the obvious, of course." He asked, dreading the response.

"I think I know what he's doing." Stiles turned to Adorjan. "You can't do this. Killing me slowly and forcing Scott to watch will not make him want to help you. Trust me when I say you will wish you were dead when he gets done with you."

The last bit of color left in Scott's face drained completely as Stiles's words sunk in. With the mountain ash surrounding both of them there was no way he would be able to help him.

Ajordan pulled out a gun and pointed it in Stiles's direction.

"NO" Scott yelled, looking frantically from Ajordan to Stiles.

Stiles closed his eyes, still refusing to show any sign of fear. Scott, however, didn't have that same kind of bravery when it came to Stiles's life.

"Please, don't hurt him." Scott frantically begged. "I'll help you, I promise I will, just let him go! STILES." Scott was shaking uncontrollably now and Stiles gave him a sympathetic look.

"I will come back for you in the morning Scott." Adorjan said, unshaken by Scott's pleas, gun never moving from Stiles. "If you still want to help me at that point, all of the humans that you care about will be free to leave the town before we start killing. Your mom, Stiles's dad, your friends from school, all of them. But if you refuse, I will kill each and every one of them just like Stiles and you will be helpless. Your little pack of misfits can never beat my pack of alphas. You have all night to decide." He turned to look at Stiles. " I really did enjoy our time together. I do wish I didn't have to do this."

With that Scott heard a bang and he saw Stiles's body slump forward and fall out of the chair. He wasn't even aware that he was screaming until his voice became hoarse and large tears started streaming down his face.


	5. Chapter 5

Scott couldn't breathe. He was hunched over and wheezing, almost as if he was having an asthma attack. But he knew it wasn't the asthma. He was having a panic attack as a result of watching the most important person in his life get shot right in front of him.

He squeezed his eyes shut and refused to open them. He couldn't look at the sight in front of him.

"S-Scotty?" Scott's head snapped up to find Stiles looking at him through cloudy eyes. The bullet seemed to have pierced Stiles's abdomen and blood was gushing out of the wound. Scott didn't even know that humans had that much blood.

Suddenly it was too much for Scott and he turned away and vomited all over the floor.

"Dude, gross." Stiles tried to laugh, which ended in a coughing fit and blood dribbling down his chin.

"Shh, Stiles, don't talk. We'll get you out of here. I'll think of something. I promise." Scott's rambling was cut off by a sob escaping his throat. One sob turned into two, which turned into a whole flood of tears. In a rush of adrenaline Scott ripped his arms out of the chains, not even noticing that he broke four of his fingers in the process.

"Scotty, y-you're bleeding." Stiles was looking pointedly at Scott's hands as he rushed over to the mountain ash barrier.

"I'm already healing, you knucklehead. Unlike you." Scott sat on the floor and tried to reach across the barrier, to no avail. "Damn it!" He cursed, slamming his newly healed hand against the concrete floor.

"It's o-okay S-Scott, really, it's b-been one-" Stiles paused to take a labored breath, "one hell of a r-ride."

Scott could see the light beginning to fade from Stiles's eyes.

"Hey buddy, hang on okay? We aren't done yet. We have so much left to do together! How am I supposed to save the world if you aren't there with me? Huh? Remember? Me and you, Batman and Robin. I need you, Stiles, okay? I need you."

Stiles smiled softly at him. "You're my b-best f-friend Scott. M-my brother. Y-you've always b-been the Batman in t-this relationship." Scott shook his head furiously and was about to protest when Stiles continued. "You don't n-need me. You've n-never needed me. Y-you're Scott freaking McCall." Stiles coughed, expelling more blood from both his mouth and his wound.

Scott's tears were still flowing freely down his dirt-stained face. "You don't get it Stiles." He gasped. "When I lost Allison, it was so hard, because she was the first girl I ever loved, but when I saw you walk out of that building alive, I knew I would be okay, because even though I lost her, I still had you. Allison might have been my first romantic love, but Stiles, you were the first person I ever chose to love. Besides my mom, you were the only person who ever made me feel like I could be myself and that I could do anything I wanted to. You always believe in me, even when I don't believe in myself, and THAT is what has kept me going all of these years. YOU are the reason why I'm still alive. I physically can't do this without you, Stiles. Don't make me do this without you."

Stiles reached out a shaky hand and, with all the strength he could muster, swiped away some of the mountain ash keeping them apart.

Scott was by his side in an instant. He grabbed Stiles's arm and hissed at the pain he felt radiating from it. He started leeching away as much pain as possible, but Stiles weakly pulled his hand out of Scott's.

"P-please. Don't. It's h-harder to s-stay awake when y-you do that."

Scott pulled a shivering Stiles into his arms and cradled him like a baby, pressing hard on the wound to try and keep some blood inside of his friend.

"Stiles, do you think you could maybe swipe away some of the mountain ash that's keeping us from actually leaving? You did great breaking the bit that was separating us, but I would love to take you to a hospital right now." Scott asked softly.

It was obvious that Stiles was struggling to keep his eyes open. "C-can't f-feel m-my b-body."

Scott could tell Stiles wouldn't last much longer in the condition he was in and decided that it would be better to die in the presence of a friend than by himself. He reached down and began slowly taking some of Stiles's pain.

Scott kissed his forehead. "It's okay buddy, you can sleep now. I've got you."

He stroked Stiles's hair and focused all of his attention on the sluggish heartbeat of the fragile human in his arms. The pack had a tendency to forget how vulnerable Stiles is as a human, but from that moment on, Scott vowed to never forget it again. He was going to protect his pack until his last breath. He was going to kill Ajordan and his whole damn alpha pack. He wasn't afraid of dying anymore, if death meant he would be able to see Allison again…

and Stiles.

Scott froze when he realized he was no longer listening to the steady beat of Stiles's heart. He put his ear right against his chest. Nothing.

Scott felt empty. Numb. His world was crashing down around him and he couldn't move or breathe or think.

This numbness didn't last very long, however, and all at once the emotions came crashing over him in waves.

He was never going to get to spend another night playing video games at Stiles's house. He would never see his friend's eyes light up at the sight of Lydia in the hallways. He would never again find himself on the floor, laughing so hard at something Stiles said or did that he couldn't breathe. He would never help Stiles through another panic attack or remind him to take his Adderall or go on crazy adventures together. Stiles was gone and Scott didn't know how to be Scott without him.

Scott's chest felt so tight he thought he was going to explode. He let out a loud, mournful howl and clutched Stiles's limp body to his own, sobbing uncontrollably into his hair.


	6. Chapter 6

"Anything?" Lydia asked hopefully, as the pack reconvened in the center of the woods.

"Nothing here." Derek said.

"Us neither." Kira replied sadly.

The pack was worried to say the least. Derek had been out patrolling the woods like Scott asked him to when he suddenly got an incredibly strong scent of blood. He knew the blood smelled familiar, but he couldn't place it. It wasn't until he was on his way back to his house that he realized the blood belonged to Stiles. He called Scott in a panic, and when he didn't pick up he called Lydia.

None of them had spoken to Scott or Stiles since they left Derek's earlier that night. They tried to follow the scent, but it had only led them a certain distance into the woods before it got washed away by the wind.

The pack had been searching the woods fever since.

"What if we don't find them?" Lydia began to freak out, pacing back and forth along the clearing.

"We have to find him. It's Stiles! What if they killed him?" Malia whined.

"Guys, calm down. Scott must be with him. Do you honestly thing Scott would let anything happen to Stiles?" Kira was trying to keep everyone calm, to no avail.

"Kira's right." Derek nodded. "And the Sheriff has all of his men out there looking for them and Melissa is at the hospital if they turn up. Someone is bound to find them."

The pack was discussing possible search strategies when Lydia began feeling something bubbling in the pit of her stomach.

"Oh no, not now. Please, God, don't let this be happening." Lydia tried so hard to suppress the scream she so desperately wanted to let out. She refused to believe that this was happening to yet another one of her best friends.

"Lydia?" Kira slowly approached the banshee. "What is it? What do you feel?"

Lydia just shook her head, afraid that if she opened her mouth she would scream.

Tears began pooling in her eyes and she couldn't suppress the urge anymore. She let out a wail that sent the rest of the pack to their knees, clutching at their ears.

Kira recovered first and ran over to where Lydia was crouched on the floor, sobbing into her hands.

She tried to think of something to say to the banshee to try and comfort her, but she realized that there were no words to make this better. Stiles and Kira weren't even very close but even she knew what a special person he was and how much he didn't deserve this.

She turned to the pack for help when they heard the most painful noise they had ever heard.

Scott's howl was loud enough to be heard miles away and sad enough to force even a few tears out of Derek. The pack stood for a second in shock of the noise that had come from their alpha before following the terrifying howl.

The pack sprinted up to an abandoned warehouse and found one of the doors already unhinged. They cautiously stepped into the building, looking around nervously as they did.

Kira unsheathed her sword and stayed at the back of the pack, ready to fight whatever was in there.

This proved unnecessary, however, as they reached the door with no interference.

"You sure this is the one?" Lydia whispered.

Derek nodded. "I can hear Scott's heartbeat."

Nobody in the room commented on the fact that he didn't include Stiles.

Whatever the pack was expecting when they barged into the room, it wasn't this.

Malia ran from the room as soon as the door was opened.

Kira took one look at the blood covering the floor and barfed, adding to the small pile that was already there.

Derek's nose was assaulted by so many smells at once, but the most prominent one, besides blood and death, was sadness, obviously emanating from the broken boy in the center of a ring of mountain ash, clutching an unnervingly still Stiles Stilinski.

Lydia was the only one, it seemed, that could keep her head straight. As she was the only one in the pack that was unaffected by mountain ash, she rushed forward and broke the barrier.

Scott jumped up with Stiles still in his arms and rushed past Lydia, walking straight towards Derek.

"We need to get to a hospital. Now." Scott's voice was hoarse from crying.

Derek looked at the boy sympathetically, trying to ignore the drying blood covering his body.

"I'm not sure that's going to help much at this point, Scott. I am so sorry." Derek dared to look at Stiles for the first time since they arrived. His face was pale and his eyes were closed. He was still warm, though, indicating that his heart had stopped only a few minutes ago. Derek's heart broke at the sight and he had to look away. He would never admit it, but he had grown quite fond of the boy over the years. It pained him to see the kid who never seemed to stop moving suddenly be so still.

Scott pushed past him and ran out of the warehouse, ignoring Derek's words. He could sense the rest of the pack following him, but he didn't care. All he cared about was seeing his mom and letting her fix this. Letting her fix him.

Scott's eyes glowed red as he prepared to run the short distance to the hospital. The rest of the pack wolfed out to follow, except for Lydia and Kira, who didn't have that speed.

"Go!" Lydia called after them. "We'll be there as soon as we can. I'll call Melissa and the Sheriff and let them know you are on your way."

With that Scott was off, Derek and Malia close behind him.


	7. Chapter 7

Melissa and the Sheriff were waiting for the pack when they arrived at the hospital. Melissa had a stretcher and a full team already assembled, but the shock in her eyes gave away the fact that Stiles was much worse than Lydia had let on. Stilinski didn't hide his shock as well.

"STILES!" He screamed, rushing over to his son. He did a quick assessment of his wounds and began sobbing hysterically. Two nurses had to hold him back so that Scott could give Stiles to the doctors.

He laid Stiles on the stretcher and they began working on him immediately. Scott looked on in horror. His feet felt glued to the ground as he watched the doctor's rush around his best friend desperately trying to find signs of life.

Melissa finally broke free to move Scott away from the commotion when they heard the doctors yell "There's no pulse! Somebody get a crash cart!"

They wheeled Stiles down a hallway and refused to let anyone else through. Melissa pulled her son into a strong embrace and Scott clung to his mother like his life depended on it.

After a few minutes, Scott felt strong enough to speak.

"I watched him die, mom." He whispered into her scrubs, tear streaks staining his face. "I heard his heart stop." He took a shuddering breath and looked up at his mother's sympathetic face. "It was the worst moment of my entire life. They have to bring him back." He buried his face into her shoulder again as Melissa rubbed soothing circles on his back.

A couple more minutes went by before Melissa sent Scott with a nurse to get cleaned up while she went to go check on Stiles. She promised an inconsolable Sheriff that she would bring them some news.

As soon as Melissa was out of earshot from the rest of the group, she broke down in tears. As a mother and a nurse it was her job to stay strong in front of her son and in front of her patient's family and friends, but this was _Stiles._ She didn't know if she had enough strength in her for that.

As much as she hated to admit it, seeing Stiles limp in Scott's arms, covered in blood and not breathing, was the most terrifying moment of her entire life. It was worse than when her ex-husband had threatened her, or when she watched Scott tumble down those stairs. At least she knew her son would be okay in the end. He had Stiles to get him through it.

Stiles had been like a son to her since he was 5 years old. She gave him band-aids when he fell down, fed him too much sugar before bed, and consequently stayed up until 5 am hearing him explain the intricacies of Star Wars to an already-sleeping Scott. She held him while he sobbed over Claudia's death and helped him through countless panic attacks. That boy couldn't have been more like a son to her if she had given birth to him herself.

She took in a shaky breath and somehow managed to pull herself together before walking into the operating room, too nervous to think properly.

"Melissa you shouldn't be in here." One of the doctors told her, glancing nervously in her direction.

"I have to know how he is. What's happening? You know how important this boy is to me."

The doctor sighed. "We managed to get his heart beating again but, Melissa, you know as well as anyone how extensive these injuries are and the damage that they have probably done to him. He was _dead_ when they brought him in."

Melissa sucked in her breath and nodded slightly, before turning around and walking back out. She did understand the implications of them and, for the first time ever, she wished she didn't.

By the time she got back to the waiting room, Kira and Lydia had arrived as well. Malia was sitting next to the Sheriff, who was staring stoically at the ground with tears silently streaking down his face.

When she shifted her focus to Scott, she couldn't help but notice how broken he looked. Her usually bright, optimistic boy looked like he was ready to give up and never move again. To say that it terrified her would be an understatement.

Scott seemed to sense her presence because he was out of his chair and by her side before the rest of the group had even registered that the door had opened.

Scott could tell from his mother's face that something was wrong. The Sheriff seemed to pick up on it too.

"Oh God." Stilinski whispered, staring at Melissa with a vacant look in his eyes. "What happened back there? He's gone isn't he?" The Sheriff let out short sobs, but remained more or less composed. "I can't lose him too. He's been my entire life ever since Claudia died."

At the mention of his wife, the Sheriff turned white as a sheet. "Oh my god, Claudia. I promised her that I would look after Stiles. I swore that I would never let anything happen to him." His composure began slipping. "I failed her." He sunk to his knees and put his head in his hands, breathing heavily.

"Stiles isn't dead." Melissa said gently, patting Stilinski on the shoulder.

"He's alive?" Scott's face lit up and he smiled widely, relief flooding through his body for the first time since he discovered the empty Stilinski house.

Melissa nodded but did not share in her son's excitement. She still looked sad, as if she were waiting to deliver the bad news.

"What is it Melissa?" Derek asked, sick of waiting.

She sighed. "When Stiles was brought into the hospital, he was technically dead. His heart wasn't beating and he hadn't been breathing for at least 10 minutes. Probably more. The doctors did successfully get his heart beating again, but he still isn't breathing on his own and he's lost a lot of blood." She looked at each member of the pack individually before continuing.

"Now, even if by some miracle the doctors can get him stabilized and breathing on his own, 10 minutes is too long for the body to go without oxygen. More likely than not, his brain cells, along with other cells in his body, began to die after about 6 minutes." The pack was silent for a long time after Melissa stopped talking.

"So you're saying that Stiles is brain dead?" Lydia asked, her voice small.

"Most likely." Melissa nodded, sadness creeping its way into her heart. "I'm so sorry Scotty." She cried, throwing her arms around her son and letting herself openly cry in front of everyone she swore to stay strong for.

Scott held his mother as she cried. He didn't think he had anymore tears left in his body to cry, so he just stared blankly at the doors that he had last seen Stiles going through.


	8. Chapter 8

Hi guys! Sorry that this chapter is so short, I'll hopefully have the next one up soon. Thank you so much for the nice reviews, they mean a lot to me :)

The pack was all sitting silently in the hospital waiting room. Nobody had spoken since Melissa told them about Stiles's probable brain death and the sadness in the room was palpable.

Scott couldn't think about his best friend's fate anymore so he was now mulling over a plan to get revenge.

"Adorjan wants us to help him eliminate all the humans in Beacon Hills." Scott's statement broke through the silence like a knife. "He said he'll be back in the morning to set me free and listen to my decision."

Lydia's eyes grew wide. "What are you going to do? Obviously not help him."

"I'm going to rip him limb from limb." Malia growled.

"No you're not." Scott shook his head. "I'm hoping that we can just scare him into leaving. Let him know that Beacon Hills is protected."

"Do you really think that'll work?" Derek sounded skeptical. "These are _alphas,_ Scott."

"I'm with Derek." Lydia nodded. "I think it's going to take more than just scaring them to get them to leave."

"I, for one, want to see someone pay for what happened to my boy." Stilinski's voice was still thick with tears. "I won't just let them walk away free and unharmed, Scott. I can't."

"I understand Sheriff, but is killing them really going to help? Would Stiles be okay with us becoming killers for him? I'm just trying to solve this with as little bloodshed as possible."

"it's a little late for that, don't you think?" Malia gestured towards the hospital doors.

"Scott's right." Kira said. "Stiles wouldn't want us to stoop to their level. We can figure this out another way."

"Alright," Derek conceded, "so what do you suggest we do?"

The pack spent the rest of the agonizing night discussing plans for the alpha pack. They knew that they had to act fast if they had any hope of catching Adorjan off guard in the morning.

When the plan was finally finished, the pack stood up and prepared to leave. Scott, however, was suddenly hesitant. He shifted uncomfortably on his feet and looked from Melissa to the Sheriff.

"Scott?" Lydia said gently, "Are you okay? We have to go."

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just feel horrible about leaving Stiles alone." He shifted his gaze to his feet. "How would he feel if he knew we were abandoning him? I've left him alone and ignored him too many times already. I want to be a good friend for once."

"Oh baby." Melissa walked over and gently placed her hand on her son's back. "I think the best way to show Stiles that you care about him is to make sure that these sons of bitches don't harm anymore people in this town. I promise you that I will call if anything changes with Stiles and when you are done you can come straight back." Melissa smiled and tilted Scott's chin up towards her. "I guarantee that Stiles knows how much you care about him. Now go make him proud and for god's sake, be careful!"

Scott smiled slightly and gave his mother a hug before turning to the rest of the pack. "She's right. We've got work to do."


	9. Chapter 9

Everyone was in position with barely a minute to spare. Scott was back inside the dreaded ring of mountain ash with Derek making a surprisingly convincing dead Stiles in the circle next to him. They had to position him in such a way that his head was covered by the chair and his muscles were drowned in clothing in order to pull it off, but with the massive pile of blood that was still drying on the floor, it didn't really matter what he looked like. Plus, they weren't planning on letting Adorjan get close enough to see the difference.

When Adorjan finally walked into the room, Scott knew that he had to act as if he had been there looking at his dead best friend all night. This proved not to be difficult at all for him, however, as all he had to do was think about the previous night and the waterworks began. Looking at the man that shot Stiles and left him to die made anger flare up within the alpha.

"You bastard!" He screamed, pushing against the ring of mountain ash with all of his strength.

"Good morning Scott." Adorjan didn't even flinch at his outburst. "I hope you've considered my proposition. But before you give me your final answer, just remember that what happened to Stiles here tonight will happen to your mother next. And then Stiles's father, and maybe I'll even kill that little banshee of yours for good measure. So I would think carefully about your response if I was you."

"I'll do it." Scott croaked through his tears. "Just please, let me out of here. I can't stand it anymore." He wasn't lying about that either. Even though he wasn't actually there anymore, seeing and smelling all of Stiles's blood was enough to dig up horrific memories of the previous night for Scott and it was killing him.

"I'm glad you've come to your senses." Adorjan walked forward slowly and with a flick of his wrist the montain ash was gone. Scott didn't have time to dwell on how he managed to do that when Derek sprung up from the ground and lunged at Adorjan. The pair toppled to the floor and Derek managed to get him pinned underneath him.

Adorjan laughed. "I'm impressed, Scott, but did you really think I would come alone?"

Suddenly the room was filled with 5 alphas. One of them attacked Derek, who let go of Adorjan with a yelp. Malia and Kira came rushing into the room with their fangs out and katanas at the ready. Even Lydia came in swinging Stiles's baseball bat.

The fighting lasted longer than Scott was hoping. At one point he saw Derek fly through the air and hit the wall with a sickening crunch. Malia was pinned to the floor by an alpha and Kira was struggling against 2 of them at once. Scott was afraid that they had failed and that his pack was not going to make it out alive when what seemed like the entire sheriff station came busting into the warehouse.

"Let them go," Stilinski yelled, gun pointed directly at Adorjan's head, "or I'll shoot."

"You really think your bullets are going to stop me?" Adorjan growled, tightening his grip on Scott's throat, who he had pinned under him. "You really are a useless Sheriff."

"I think you underestimate the humans of Beacon Hills." A new voice suddenly boomed from behind Stilinski.

Chris Argent stepped out in front of the alpha pack and shot Adorjan in the leg, who howled in agony as he dropped to the floor. Scott scrambled out from under him, switching positions and grabbing the werewolf by the neck.

"Thanks to things like you, we now keep the station stocked with wolfsbane bullets." The Sheriff explained, crouching in front of the alpha. "Now, I can have my friend Deaton remove that bullet and let you live, or I can have my men shoot every last member of your pack in the heart with wolfsbane. Don't underestimate the lengths a father will go to in order to avenge his child. And by the way, picking on a human? Really? What kind of alpha are you? It doesn't take much strength or skill to do what you did to Stiles."

Adorjan was writhing in pain on the floor. He looked at the Sheriff murderously. "What do you want from me? He asked through gritted teeth.

"I want you to leave this town and never come back. I want you and your pack to find a home for yourselves that doesn't involve killing anyone to do it."

The werewolf sat quietly for a minute before answering. "Fine." He motioned to the others, who reluctantly let go of the pack members. Scott released Adorjan and stepped away.

The sheriff smiled slightly and patted Adorjan on the shoulder condescendingly. "Good dog. Do we need to drive you out of the city or can you manage that yourself? Deaton is outside waiting for you."

Adorjan growled but stood up slowly and shoved past Stilinski and the rest of the police force, who followed him with their guns. When he reached the door, Adorjan turned back around. "One more thing Sheriff. Just so we're clear, your son got what he deserved. This world is a better place without him. I did you all a favor."

Scott's eyes flashed red and he lunged at the alpha and it took every last bit of Stilinski's will power to hold him back and not let the boy kill the bastard.

Adorjan chuckled at the alpha. "You have a weak spot when it comes to your friends, Mr. McCall, and one day that will prove to be the weakness that causes your undoing. This isn't over."

"Oh yes it is." The Sheriff rolled his eyes and handcuffed the alpha. He turned to Scott. "I know where you want to be right now. You can go. We've got this."

Scott nodded to Stilinski and ran to his motorbike that was hidden in the woods. He could see Lydia and the rest of the pack slowly emerging from the building and Deaton standing there with his medical kit, but Scott only had eyes for one person. He turned his bike around and sped as fast as he could to Beacon Hills Memorial.


	10. Chapter 10

Scott couldn't find his mother anywhere when he arrived at the hospital so he grabbed the nearest nurse.

"Do you know where Melissa McCall is?" he demanded.

"She's currently with a patient." The nurse eyed his bloody clothes. "Do you need help?"

"I need my mother." Scott replied, making the nurse look even more confused. "You said she was with a patient. Is it Stiles Stilinski? Can you tell me what room they are in?"

"I'm sorry sir, but Stiles isn't allowed any visitors at the moment. If you would like to wait-"

"I don't want to wait anymore!" Scott finally burst. "I want to see my best friend. If you don't tell me what room he's in right now I swear to god I'll-"

"Scott!" The sound of his mother's voice startled Scott out of his rage and he turned immediately towards her. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Melissa eyed him angrily and turned her focus to the nurse that Scott was just yelling at. "I'm so sorry Mary, my son had a really rough night last night. I'll handle him."

Mary looked suspiciously at Scott one last time before turning on her heels and walking in the other direction.

"Mom, you have to let me see Stiles." Scott pleaded as soon as Mary was out of earshot. "I'm desperate."

Melissa's stern face melted at the sight of her broken son. She looked around to make sure nobody saw them before leading Scott to the room that was holding his friend's lifeless body.

Melissa stopped outside of the room. "Now Scott, this might be a bit shocking to see." she tried to warn him, but Scott didn't waste a second before shoving the door open to get to his friend. He immediately wished he hadn't.

Stiles looked worse than when they brought him in, if that's even possible. The blood was washed away, but in place of it were dark bruises littering what seemed like his entire body. He looked especially pale and fragile laying amidst a mountain of wires. Scott thought he looked more like a science experiment than a human.

The werewolf slowly walked over to his best friend and slumped down in the chair next to him. Melissa put her hand on his shoulder. "I'll give you two some time. I'm going to wait for the others. We will give his brain a little time to heal, but tomorrow we'll perform some tests to check his brain function. It's not over yet, sweetie." She kissed his forehead and walked out, leaving the two brothers all alone.

"Hey buddy." Scott whispered, quickly examining the extent of Stiles's injuries. "I'm right here, Stiles. I'm never going to leave you again."

Scott's eyes wandered to the machine that was breathing for Stiles and they began brimming with tears. "I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. I should've been there to protect you. I should have known something like this would happen." His voice broke. "You have to wake up. I'm not giving you a choice here."

Scott stared at Stiles's face, trying to memorize every bit of it. He could easily remember the sound of his voice and the warmth of his laughter, but Scott worried that if he didn't wake up soon, those memories would fade.

After a while Scott began dozing off, resting his head on the bed next to Stiles's hand. Melissa and the Sheriff walked in on the two boys together and decided not to disturb the moment. Stilinski walked over and kissed both boys on the head before ducking out to wait with the others. Melissa quickly followed after taking some stats and making sure Stiles's machines were all doing their jobs.

When Scott woke up the next morning, Stiles's room was crawling with doctors.

"Scott? Sweetie? I need you to leave for a little while, okay? We have some doctors here to test Stiles's brain and respiratory function but I'll call you back in when we are finished." Scott nodded to his mother and stood up, stretching out his neck painfully.

Most of the pack was in the waiting room when Scott got there, except for Derek.

"He'll be back." Lydia explained, noticing Scott looking around for the missing member. "We all went home in turns throughout the night to get cleaned up and take a nap, and it's currently Derek's turn." She scrunched up her nose as Scott got closer. "I would suggest that you do the same, but I think I already know what your answer would be."

"I'm not leaving until Stiles does." Scott stated firmly

"That might be difficult to do son." Stilinski came over and patted Scott affectionately on the shoulder before wrapping him in a bear-like hug. "Thank you for caring so much about my son." He whispered. "You two boys are closer than any two people I have ever seen. But Scott, if the news from these tests is not good, I need you to go home and get cleaned up and sleep in your own bed. One of my sons might never come back to me, so I need to make sure my other son takes care of himself."

Scott pulled away from the Sheriff with tears in his eyes. "I promise I will go home if you do."

The Sheriff smiled. "Deal."

"Oh, I wanted to ask you, what did you say to all of the officers to get them to help you? You didn't tell them about werewolves, did you?"

Stilinski chuckled, "No, of course not. I told them that my son was attacked by a group of mental patients who believed that they were a pack of werewolves and that we had to go along with their delusions in order to get them back to Eichen House." He shrugged. "They all seemed to buy it."

Scott smiled at the man that he considered a father and the two of them sat next to Lydia in the waiting room chairs that had become so familiar to them over the past few days.

Lydia reached over and grabbed both boys' hands. "He's going to be okay." She said with determination. "He has to be okay."


	11. Chapter 11

After about an hour of waiting, Scott heard his mother's unusually quick heartbeat approaching the doors to the waiting room. Suddenly terrified, he told the others she was coming and they all jumped up to meet her.

Scott could hear his heart beating in his ears and his palms were slick with sweat, but his fears were erased when his mother came into view grinning from ear to ear. She ran to him and scooped him into her arms.

"He's a miracle!" Melissa cried, kissing Scott's cheeks before embracing the Sheriff. "There should have been no brain activity. He was without oxygen for far too long for him to still be in there, but he is!" Scott smiled at that. Truly smiled. He always knew Stiles was special.

The whole pack was talking excitedly to each other. "Is he awake?" Lydia asked.

Melissa shook her head. "His body has been through a lot. There is no way of knowing when he will wake up. His breathing is still not strong enough to come off the ventilator."

"But he will wake up, right?" Malia questioned.

"We have strong reasons to believe that he will."

"So you may very well have just given everyone false hope." Derek had arrived back at the hospital during the commotion.

Melissa smile slipped only slightly. "Look, this is the best news we've gotten since Stiles came in. There is a lot still unknown about his condition but for now I believe that we have reason to celebrate. His brain has activity! That never should have happened!" She wasn't about to let the sourwolf ruin her moment of happiness. She deserved it after the last few days.

"Can we see him?" Scott couldn't keep the excitement out of his voice, regardless of the revelation that he still might not wake up.

"Of course, Stiles could use his friends right now."

The pack all crowded into the small room and everyone reacted differently when they saw Stiles. Scott and the Sheriff went in first because they already knew what to expect and stood guard next to the bed. Lydia came in next. Scott could sense her shock and sadness at seeing Stiles like that, but she always felt like she had to be the strong one in the pack, so she set her mouth in a straight line and refused to show those emotions. Malia found herself unable to look at the broken body of the boy that she had grown to love, so she ended up sitting in a chair at the back of the room.

Derek and Kira came in last. Kira immediately went to comfort Scott while Derek was drawn to Stiles. He felt protective of the boy and couldn't help but feel slightly responsible for this happening to him. As a former alpha it was still his job to look after his pack, even if they were technically Scott's pack now. In his mind, pack is family, and family is forever.

Each person in the room struggled in their own way with coming to terms with what happened to Stiles and over the next week they all fell into a sort of routine. Kira's mother made her return to school after 2 days and she managed to convince Malia to go with her, as the werecoyote was having troubles of her own being around that much sickness and death. They both still came by everyday after school, though, to check on Stiles.

Lydia, Scott, and the Sheriff only went home when Melissa forced them to. She would remind them that Stiles would not want a bunch of unshowered, exhausted, and irritable people sharing his living space. It took a lot to get Scott to leave, however, because he was determined to be there when Stiles finally opened his eyes, and when Scott was determined to do something, there was no convincing him otherwise.

Derek took on the role of the protective mother. He was constantly bringing food and drinks to the room, making sure everyone had enough blankets and pillows when they slept over, and giving snappy remarks to any doctor or nurse who tried to kick the pack out of the room. He would leave often to patrol the woods and make sure Adorjan or his pack didn't come back, and he generally preferred to sleep in his own bed, but for the most part he stayed near Stiles. He wouldn't let anything else happen to him.

It had been 2 weeks since Stiles went into a coma and Derek had just left for the night. Scott had fallen asleep, Melissa was with another patient, and Stilinski was in the cafeteria getting some coffee. That created a rare moment where Lydia was all alone with Stiles.

She moved over to sit on the edge of his bed and grabbed his hand.

"Hey Stiles." She smiled at him as if he was looking at her. "Scott told me the other day that you still have feelings for me." She searched his face for any signs of recognition. "If that's true, then show me. Wake up, Stiles. If you really love me, please open your eyes. You once told me that I looked beautiful when I cried. If you wake up now, you could see it." And that was true. She couldn't help but shed tears while talking to him.

Lydia sighed. "After Allison died, I was rightfully devastated. She was my best friend. I didn't think I was going to make it through her funeral. Do you remember that? You were still in so much pain after the possession but you came to the funeral anyway. You didn't have to, and we would've all understood if you didn't, but you wanted to be there. This was back when you were blaming yourself for what happened and you could hardly look at anybody, especially not Scott or Mr. Argent. I remember you looking so lost that day, but regardless of the pain and the guilt that was eating away at you, you sat down right next to me and took my hand. That's all. You just grabbed my hand and didn't let go. It was the worst day of my life and you told me that you were so sorry and you simply held me as I cried. I never told you, but that was the moment that I knew I was going to be okay. I knew that I could survive Allison's death if you were by my side. You became my best friend that day, Stiles, and I can't lose another best friend. Nobody will be able to save me from that." Tears were silently dripping down her face and clouding her vision, so she didn't notice that Scott was awake and looking at her with sympathetic eyes.

He reached across the bed and grabbed one of her hands. Lydia jumped at the sudden contact and glanced up at Scott, wiping her eyes with her free hand.

"I'm sorry you had to hear that. I know you don't like talking about Allison."

Scott shook his head. "Don't be sorry. We should talk about her. I never knew how much you were hurting that day, Lydia. I was so caught up in my own grief I didn't really stop to think about other people." He looked away from Lydia in shame and his eyes fell on his best friend. "I'm really glad Stiles was there for you at least. He's always been better than me with those things. It's one of the reasons that we need him back."

Lydia nodded. She could agree wholeheartedly with that statement.

 **Hey guys! There is only going to be one more chapter left of this story! Thank you for those who have read, favorited, followed, or reviewed the story. I appreciate each one of you!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey everyone! There have been some issues with** **fan sending out alert emails about new chapters, so if you are reading this chapter and feel like you might have missed something, check to see if you read chapter 11!**

* * *

"So what's the plan? Why isn't he waking up?" The Sheriff asked Melissa, who had just come in to check Stiles's vitals. It had been a month since Stiles was shot and he still hadn't shown any signs of waking up, except that he had been taken off of the ventilator a week earlier.

"We're still monitoring him. The good news is that his condition has not deteriorated, but the bad news is that his condition hasn't necessarily improved either. We are remaining hopeful that he will wake soon, but even when he does, the doctors say that he will have some form of brain damage."

His mother's words made Scott's ears prick up from his seat in the corner of the room. He hadn't even considered that before. "What kind of brain damage?" He asked.

"It's called an anoxic brain injury. It occurs in patients who have suffered from prolonged oxygen deprivation." Melissa was using her nurse voice to talk to Scott and Stilinski because she didn't think she would be able to have this conversation if she let her emotions get in the way. "There are a wide variety of symptoms from this type of injury ranging from memory loss to a loss of motor function or problems processing words or visuals. He could also suffer from a loss of coordination or an inability to concentrate."

"Loss of coordination and an inability to concentrate? That doesn't sound much different than normal, right Sheriff?" Scott interjected, attempting to lighten the mood a bit. Stilinski tried to smile at Scott to show that he appreciated his attempt at finding humor in the situation, but he was too exhausted to manage even that.

Melissa squeezed Scott's shoulder. "We won't know the extent of his injuries until he wakes up, but I just want you guys to be prepared for the reality that there is practically no chance that he came out of this ordeal unharmed."

"As long as he's alive, we can work around a disability." Stilinski said confidently. Scott nodded vigorously in agreement just as Derek walked in with sandwiches for everyone.

* * *

Stiles didn't wake up for another month. By that point, all of the kids had been sent back to school. Scott fought it for as long as he could, but when the principal threatened to make him repeat the grade, Melissa put her foot down. Scott tried to reason with her by saying that Stiles was probably going to have to repeat the grade too and that he wanted to graduate with his best friend, but she would have none of that. So, Scott went to school. He paid attention as best as he could in class, even though his mind was far away from what they were currently learning about. After school he would run home to quickly change clothes and organize himself before heading to the hospital to spend the rest of the night there until he had to go back to school in the morning. It didn't allow for the best nights sleeps of his life, but he wouldn't have it any other way.

The Sheriff, too, had to go back to work eventually. The hospital bills were beginning to pile up, and he needed to continue making money if he had any hope of paying them off. It pained him not to be around Stiles 24/7, but he knew that if his son was awake this is what he would want him to do.

Lydia was more conscientious about her grades than Scott and was determined to maintain her straight A average, so she started spending more and more time away from the hospital. She could never focus in that place, and she felt confident that if Stiles was going to wake up, her banshee powers would pick up on it.

Derek checked in every once in a while, too, but even he had given up after a while, so when Stiles finally did wake up, Scott was the only person in the room.

He was busy reading for history when his ears picked up a sudden change in Stiles's heartbeat. He was out of his chair and by Stiles's bed so fast that his textbook went sprawling across the floor.

"Stiles?" Scott gently shook his brother's shoulders. "Can you hear me?"

After a few minutes Scott still didn't see a change. He was about to give up and retrieve the book he had thrown across the room when Stiles's hand twitched slightly.

"Oh my god!" Scott screamed. "Stiles?"

"Mmurfrehg" Stiles whispered, his head moving slightly to the side. He opened his eyes very slowly and blinked against the bright lights. "S-Scotty?" He finally said, struggling against the heavy medication coursing through his body.

"Yeah, buddy, it's me. I'm here." Tears sprang up in Scott's eyes and he couldn't help but hug his best friend.

"Ugh, Scotty careful." Stiles's words were very slow, but Scott couldn't care less. He was awake! Scott could cry with joy.

Scott tried yelling for his mother, but after he realized that she couldn't hear him, he resorted to pressing the call button over and over again instead.

A small group of nurses came storming in, Melissa at the front, looking around for the emergency.

"What is it Scott? What's wrong?" She asked frantically searching her son's tear-soaked face for answers.

Scott just smiled at his mother and moved to the side so that she could see the bed. When Melissa saw the chocolate brown eyes of her second son looking up at her she couldn't keep her tears in either.

The nurses were shocked as they checked all of his stats. The room was buzzing with excitement. Melissa wiped her tears and noticed the weary look in Stiles's eyes. She herded the other nurses out of the room with the task of getting a doctor to check his functioning.

Melissa smiled and gave both of her boys a kiss on the forehead. "As you can see, this is a very exciting moment for all of us, Stiles, but I can't imagine how exhausted you are. I'll leave you two alone now and go call your dad and the rest of the pack." She started to leave and then turned around once more. "I'm just so happy that you're awake baby."

Even after his mother left, Scott could not stop staring at the miracle that was Stiles.

"Dude, stop staring at me like that." Stiles laughed slightly. "Speaking of which, what is up with everyone? Why are they so emotional? How long was I out? What even happened?"

Scott frowned. "You don't remember?"

"I remember that we got in a fight at Derek's apartment. I went home and felt bad about it so I was going to try and call you but I don't remember anything after that." Stiles's face was scrunched up in concentration when his heart monitor suddenly began speeding up and his breathing quickened.

"Stiles? Are you okay? What's happening?"

"Scott," Stiles turned to his best friend with fear plastered across his face. "I wasn't possessed again, was I? Did I hurt anyone? Oh god what did I do?"

Scott's heart broke at those words. He had no idea just how much the nogitsune was still affecting him. "Hey, stop that. You did not get possessed again. You are safe from the nogitsune. It can never hurt you again. You have to believe me."

The heart monitor began slowing back to a normal pace and Stiles swallowed loudly. "Okay, so what happened to me?"

Scott took a deep breath, not sure exactly how much to tell him. In the end, he decided the truth was probably the best. It fit with his new resolution to be a better friend. "You were kidnapped by an alpha named Adorjan. He wanted to use you to get me to join his pack so he trapped me and you in a ring of mountain ash and-" He didn't want to say the rest. He didn't think he could relive those memories without going crazy.

But Stiles was vaguely beginning to remember. "He shot me, didn't he?" he whispered.

"Yeah buddy, he did." Scott tried to focus on the very much alive boy in front of him instead of the dead one that was plaguing his mind. "You died in my arms, Stiles. You were dead for over 10 minutes."

Stiles's eyes widened and he broke out into a huge goofy grin. "Woah, was it cool? Like in the movies? All dramatic and stuff? Did you cry? Oh my god I bet you cried!"

"It was not cool and it was not funny Stiles!" Scott snapped. He could not believe Stiles was trying to turn this into a joke. "You were in a coma for 2 months. We thought you were brain dead!"

Stiles's smile was quickly replaced by a look of horror. "2 months? I missed so much! How am I going to get caught up in school? What about my dad? How is he paying for these hospital bills? I have to get out of here!"

"You're not going anywhere." Stilinski walked in the room with the pack in tow and hugged his son. "You scared the hell out of me, Stiles."

Each member of the pack took their turn welcoming Stiles back and Lydia even kissed him on the cheek, making him blush madly.

Soon after, the doctors came in to check Stiles's brain function and decide what rehabilitation therapies he would need. Scott took that time to look around at his pack that was once again complete, and in that moment he knew that no matter what mental deficiencies they found, they would find a way to work through them. Everyone was going to help Stiles get better. He also decided then and there that he was never going to leave any member of his pack that vulnerable again. He was determined to be the friend and alpha that they all deserve.

* * *

 **So there you go, that is the end of the story! I loved writing this so much that I am thinking about writing a sequel to it. If that's something you would like, then either follow me or follow this story and I will update it if I write a sequel. And if you think that a sequel is a horrible idea, feel free to tell me that too! Again, thank you so much for reading, favoriting, reviewing, all that jazz. It means a lot to me.**


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